Live Review : Blackwitch Pudding, Billy O’s in Ventura, CA, 13/1/2014

Blackwitch Pudding is a Stoner Metal Band from Portland, OR, USA

The members are:

Space Wizard-Guitar
Lizard Wizard-Bass
Wizard Wizard-Drums

Blackwitch Pudding Live! @ Billy O’s in Ventura, CA

These guys are wizards from the future! They conjure alcoholic beverages, shark commandos, dinosaurs and let’s not forget… panties! Yes, panties! They even sell them at the venues they magically appear at. One wizard brings the power of the hovercraft. One wizard brings the power of Sunn. One wizard brings the power of crashing and pounding thunder. They also bring their own ambiance in the form of a fourth cloaked wizard that controls smoke and light! In grand wizard form with plenty of pomp and circumstance, they regaled us with music and comedy.

You might have noticed that I used the word “wizard” a few times up there… well you can’t escape the fact that Blackwitch Pudding are wizards at their craft! These guys have lyrics that make you wonder what the hell happened in their childhoods. Twisted, mostly harmless and completely insane; are words that seem to fall from your mouth when seeing them live.

In all seriousness; these guys can play and they write great songs. They get the whole psychedelic vibe and the whole slow is the new fast vibe. All three of them sing and each have a unique take on how to draw you into the song. Not to mention they are some of the nicest guys playing music today. Gracious and totally understanding of our unsupporting cow town by the sea. Monday is a tough night in any town, Monday night in Ventura… forget-about-it! For the small crowd that was there to experience them; all of us left with a smile on our face and some of us left with panties!

Blackwitch Pudding were planning on making this a four week tour (no Gilligan’s island jokes, please), so if you see them playing in your neck of the woods Southern California/Arizona/etc., go! Go see them and taste the pudding!

https://www.facebook.com/blackwitchpudding

http://blackwitchpudding.bandcamp.com/album/taste-the-pudding

Live Gig Review written by Ransome Note

Queen Elephantine - Scarab - Album Review

Album Type: Full Length
Release Date: 06/2013
Label: Heart & Crossbone Records

Scarab, track list:

1 Intro/Through the Barricades
2 Forced to the Ground
3 Pile of Corpses
4 Remains of Wars
5 At the Eastern Shores
6 Grandiose Visions
7 Death Brigade
8 In the Warfield Storms
9 Night of Revenge

Queen Elephantine is:

Mat Becker : b. guitar
Indrayudh Shome : e. guitar
Ian Sims : drumset
Nathanael Totushek : drumset
Srinivas Reddy : tanpura/swarm
Brett Zweiman : slide guitar/divine mosquito

Review:

Now four full length albums into their fluid career, Queen Elephantine are an enigma. Formed in 2006 in Hong Kong, transplanted to New York in 2007; Indrayudh Shome is the only original member left. He does, however maintain the heart and soul of the band. 

They have been labeled as “doom”, I’m not sure that fits. They are a doom band in the sense of drone, I guess. The sitar and percussive elements are more meditative (and not new age bullshit) and trance like. The Eastern influence is so radically different from the down tuned, ham-fisted bashing that even my band succumb to; it’s really hard to describe Queen Elephantine in any way other than, “you should find some herb, turn the lights down low and drift, drift… drift”

If you are in a funeral doom kind of mood or if you are seeking another astral plain; these four tracks will fill that hole in your existence!

Website: http://queenelephantine.clfrecords.com
Music: http://queenelephantine.bandcamp.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/queenelephantine
Press: http://queenelephantine.clfrecords.com/press.html

Written by Ransome Note

Thanks to Kunal Choksi and Heart & Crossbone Records for sending us a promo to review.

Legions of War - Forced To The Ground - Album Review

Album Type: Full Length
Release Date: 12/20/2013
Label: Inferno Records

Forced to the Ground, track list:

1 Intro/Through the Barricades
2 Forced to the Ground
3 Pile of Corpses
4 Remains of Wars
5 At the Eastern Shores
6 Grandiose Visions
7 Death Brigade
8 In the Warfield Storms
9 Night of Revenge

Legions of War are:

Hellwind : Bass
Martin Hogebrandt : Drums
Widowreaper : Guitars
Zyklon : Vocals & Guitars

Review:

 

Since LOW are on Inferno Records; the accompanying press kit was well put together; complete with the band’s logo, publicity shot, album art work (high quality) and a PDF bio. In an era where most bands have a bandcamp presence and little more; it was refreshing to see time put into a press package.

LOW have been compared to Destroyer666 and Gospel of the Horns; being from a completely different hemisphere (LOW is from Sweden and the other two are from Australia); LOW’s music and speed are where that comparison ends. LOW runs at a breakneck speed through the valley of war and throw the corpses off of the highest peaks they can find.

I am not a fan of growling/grunting vocals, the clear angst ridden screams of Zyklon further drive TOW’s aggressive warmonger attitude home. The band can play and they play their asses off! In most thrash releases; it’s a rehash of the same riffs over and over. TOW adds power metal arrangements to the thrash assault and this album has a sheen to it that makes everything stand out in the mix.

The album plays out almost like a concept album. From the beginning of the battle, through small victories and defeats and ultimately ending in revenge.

I won’t review this song by song; you should buy it and listen to it as a whole thought; as a whole story about man’s ruin. Fans of bands like DESTROYER'666, GOSPEL OF THE HORNS, KREATOR, SODOM will love this album!!

Written by Ransome Note

Thanks to Inferno Records for sending us a promo to review. Forced To The Ground is available to buy now.

Check The Band From Links Below

Official
Facebook

Forgotten Gods - Fall of the Dagger - Album Review

This trio won’t be easily forgotten, that’s for sure. After a brief search of BandCamp for like-minded bands from San Jose; I was surprised to see how many there were. Forgotten Gods stand out of the pack however. Swirling riffs, killer break-downs and well sung lyrics; are what you will find on their full length release. This release is more produced than their EP and also a bit slower; this is not a bad thing at all.

The band members are:

Kevin Swartz (Bottom, Burning Monk, Archer)
Pete Rice (ThunderHorse, Janitors Against Apartheid)
Dave Stoltenberg (Slick Shoes, House of Doors)

King of Dread: Starts with a maiden-esque bass riff; then propels into a familiar, but new take on a standard metal run. The melodic breakdown is unexpected and sets the parts up well. Vocals are mixed well and lyrically the words let you “see” rather than be told what to see.

First Light: Falsetto, melodic vocals, folk like break-downs, the bridge builds instead of mellowing out.

Fall of the Dagger: Slower sung, not at all what I was expecting; digging it. Great riff! A shit ton of words to remember in this one, cheers on that!! And at 14 mins, it’s a workout for sure.

Ghosts & Fire: Another great riff, well sung. Slowest tune on the album, very Sabbath like.

All or Nothing: BandCamp didn’t handle the cross-fade well, but I can see where they used Ghosts & Fire as an intro. I’d love to see this one live! I also sense a different vocalist on this track.

Seasons: This one is where the band really lets loose!

My only complaint would be that the drums could have been heavier, like the previous EP. If that’s the worst of it, there’s no reason on the planet you shouldn’t support these guys, seriously; go NOW! Buy it!!

If you like Black Sabbath, The Sword, Coheed and Cambria, the more prog aspect of Mastodon; you will dig these guys! I’d love to see them live and watch them pull this stuff off! So, I just read their bio and the influences listed above are all named…

enjoy this fine release.

http://forgottengods.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/forgottengodsmusic
http://ghostsandfire.com/

Written by Ransome Note

My own verdict on this album that it's an excellent release from a band that impressed me from the very first listen. A superb album!!!!

Tuber - Desert Overcrowded - Album Review

 

Tuber is a band from Serres, Greece or are they? They blend the desert sound, post-rock and psychedelic in an instrumental palate that paints some incredible pictures. Instruments in a band setting are colors, tonal colors; musicians create aural visuals and take your mind on journeys that are personal. The plus with being an instrumental band is that the listeners make up their own story. 

Words don’t cloud the issue.

Tuber does this incredibly well and improves upon this from their 2012 self-titled EP.

Tuber is comprised of:

Yannis Gerostathos - Guitars

Yannis Artzoglou - Guitars

Nickos Gerostathos - Drums

Paris Fragkos - Bass

In a previous interview here on Sludgelord with Paris, the band’s history is well documented. With the addition of guitarist; Yannis Artzoglou they are exploring even more colors.

This album has 6 songs, the shortest clocking in at close to the 5-minute mark. They are not looking for pop music hits; Tuber is taking you on a desert ride via the cosmos!

Desert Overcrowded begins the journey quite nicely.

Sucker Punch explodes at the 2-minute mark and doesn’t look back.

Firebird starts with a pounding bass and keeps the guitars separated until they crash into each other.

Last Drop of fuel in the tank or whiskey in the bottle, pulses along and finds a melodic groove.

Cause We Didn’t Find Our Way begins in a somber reflective space and come out fighting

The South Will Prevail is a great way to end this album, syncopated intro into jarring, yet melodic chords and then finding melody and just when you are coming down, Tuber hit you again with a brilliant ending

See these links below? Use them, like this band on Facebook and buy their art! This one you will listen to over and over again; highly recommended!

https://www.facebook.com/tuberband

http://tuber.bandcamp.com/album/desert-overcrowded

Written by Ransome Note

Tuber have delivered a breathtaking album. I agree with everything that Ransome Note has written here. A beautiful and oustanding album full of depth and human emotions.